Corney & Barrow ad 'irresponsible'

Corney and Barrow

(Image credit: Corney and Barrow)

An email promoting a 'Beaujolais breakfast' at Corney & Barrow wine bars has been banned after advertising watchdogs said it could encourage irresponsible drinking.

Corney & Barrow wine bars: Beaujolais for breakfast?

The Beaujolais Nouveau promotion advertised a full English breakfast and a 175ml glass of Beaujolais for £10, saying: ‘Forget boring team meetings in the office… We guarantee your meeting minutes will be taken to a whole new level!’

It also said: ‘Now that’s a red worth getting out of bed for – overheard in Corney & Barrow, Monument.’

The offer was available on 18 November between 7.30-11am, and the ASA concluded that it was encouraging ‘an irresponsible drinking practice’ and was ‘socially irresponsible’.

In response, Corney & Barrow said the company ‘strongly refuted’ the complaint, pointing out that the offer related to a single annual event, and was for a single, small-sized glass of wine – the effects of which would be offset by the food.

The ASA’s CAP Code requires that marketing communications contain nothing that is likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that are unwise.

Written by Richard Woodard

Richard Woodard is a freelance wine and spirits writer based in the UK. Aside from Decanter, he writes for several wine trade and media outlets including Imbibe, The Drinks Business, Harpers and Drinks International.

Since 2015 he has been the magazine editor of Scotchwhisky.com. He has formerly worked as a wine news reporter at Imbibe and a feature writer for Halycon Magazine.